Bring Her Home
by Twiggy Otaku
Summary: After two and a half years of training with Jiraiya, Naruto has finally returned home. Strangely though Sakura is no where to be seen. As he continues to live his life he finds out that she abandoned the village a year after Sasuke. What's going to happen? What will Sasuke going to do about it? Will she ever come home? And why did she leave in the first place? WARNING smut to come.
1. Chapter 1

**A.N. I don't own Naruto or any of the characters! Now that's out of the way... ENJOY 3**

* * *

Low rumbles bounced off the cold stone walls. It could only mean one thing to the young ninja. It's the thing he had been training for, for the last two and a half years. The only thing that had encased his mind. It would be wrong to call it thing. It had been a person that Naruto had been searching, training, just thinking all about.

"SASUKE!"

Pounding feet began to overpower the echoing explosion. His desire to save him. That's all he wanted. He just wanted to bring Sasuke home after… after all that had happened.

"Naruto wait!" Yamato's call meet nothing more than deaf ears; his words couldn't reach the young blonde's ears after this, "Naruto!"

"SASUKE!"

Light shone through the large hole that had been made, clearly Sai had screwed up and it was up to Naruto to fix it. But that didn't matter. At least the boy had found Sasuke. Now it was the time to bring the stupid Uchiha back to the village once and for all. He had to… he had to save his best friend.

Otherwise he would really be lost.

"SASUKE!"

At the end of the tunnel he could see Sai standing, facing towards the heated sun without so much as a care on his face. It could only mean that he was watching Sasuke. Who else would be there? It had to be Sasuke. It had to be. It had to be…

Naruto burst into the sunlight and without hesitating spun around to face his former teammate. He was right. Sasuke was standing there before him, one arm resting casually on his sword. His pale chest seemed to sparkle in the warming sun in complete contrast to the cold stare of his eyes. It was him. It was Uchiha Sasuke.

"Sasuke…"

"Naruto," Sasuke's cold voice resonated over the dry plane that he had been hiding inside of, "What are you doing here?"

Naruto looked up at his friend and began to plead, "Sasuke! You have to come home!"

"That's why you're here? How pathetic."

"Sasuke!"

"Come now, you've already replaced me haven't you?" Sasuke nodded towards where Sai stood, silent and waiting, "Is Kakashi also here to drag me back? And Sakura too by my guess."

"Actually Kakashi Senpai isn't here," Yamato corrected, coming into the light to join the rag tag team he had been thrown into, "Just me."

"I don't know who you are."

"Well isn't that unfortunate."

Sasuke pushed aside the existence of Yamato and focused back on the situation at hand, "So where is Sakura then?"

"I don't know."

Despite the years of being separated from each other, the memories of the blonde chiming on and on about bonds and friendship, and all of that crap that Sasuke no longer cared for, Naruto still managed to say the three words so casually.

"You don't know?"

"Oh?" Naruto managed a playful smirk when he saw the small twitch by Sasuke's eye, "You don't care do you?"

"I broke those bonds long ago."

"Bullshit."

Within a mere second Sasuke had managed to leap down and wrap an arm gently around his ex-teammates shoulder, "Say what you want but I only say what is true, besides it isn't like you to just brush aside the fact that one of your precious friends are missing."

"I never said she was missing."

"So where is she?"

"I don't know," Naruto grabbed Sasuke's wrist as a small smile curled onto his face, "Baa-chan said that she was on a mission when I got back, so I'm not worried about her. In fact now that I know that she's away then I know she's going to really happy when she comes back to find you home again."

"Why waste all you time trying to chase me down? Wasn't it you dream to become Hokage?"

"If I can interrupt…"

Both boys flicked their eyes to the other one present, the forgotten Sai had an oddly serious look on his face. He slowly pulled out his book filled of ex-shinobi, flicking to the page on the other side of Sasuke's profile.

"One Haruno Sakura," the picture of the smiling pinkette captured all the attention, stats and information laced beneath her young photo, "She abandoned the village about a year after Uchiha Sasuke. She's actually next on my list to hunt down after Sasuke was... dealt with."

* * *

There was that look of loss in Tsunade's eyes; Jiraiya would know it anywhere, "Tsunade, a Ryo for your thoughts."

"I was thinking of Naruto..."

"How he will react with the Uchiha?"

"There is something else..."

Now there was a waver in her voice. He leaned against the end of her desk and carefully watched the woman sigh to herself, "Would it have anything to do with the lack of pink hair bubbly bouncing around this village?"

"I told him that she was out on a mission, but even Naruto will figure out that she's not coming home sooner or later," Tsunade flopped into her chair and pulled out some memory erasing Sake, "I just don't know how he's going to react when he finds out that she too abandoned the village."

"Abandoned?"'

"Haruno Sakura. She had so much potential as a medic and I don't know why but one day I had her parents trying to destroy my door. 'She's missing! You're the one teaching our baby girl so where the hell is she?'" Tsunade managed to quote with ease, "All I could do was sit here blankly and question their sanity."

Jiraiya didn't know much about the cherry blossom, but even he could tell from their short time together that she wasn't one to abandon the people who loved her, "You didn't know that she had left the village?"

"Of course not. One day I'm teaching her as normal, there was nothing wrong as far as I could tell and then she's gone. I send out team after team of shinobi but I guess I taught her too well in our short time together. None of the nin-hounds could track her scent or anything. She had just... vanished."

"And you lied to Naruto about it... he won't be happy when he finds out the truth."

"He ran off with you to train just to bring back Sasuke, but even then we knew the little traitor was with Orochimaru. Sakura vanished without a reason. She never let on to anyone the day before and so we have no leads to go on if we wish to search for her..."

Tsunade didn't sound like she had finished, "Which means...?"

"Which means that Haruno Sakura went rogue. There is no reason for her to have left so all we can do is put her in the Bingo Book and pray that someone turns up with some information about her. But even if that ever happens she will be prosecuted for risking the safety of her village."

"Naruto is not going to like that."

"All I can do is pray that he doesn't figure it out until I have a plan to deal with him..."

* * *

"No…" Naruto pushed Sasuke back and ran to grab Sai's collar, "No! Baa-chan said that Sakura-chan is on a mission. She's going to come home! She hasn't abandoned the village!"

"I'm afraid she already did Naruto-kun."

"SHUT UP SAI!"

Sasuke rested his arm back on his sword, no emotion crossing his face, "I assume we are done here. I will be leaving then."

"Sasuke!" despite the obvious reactions, Naruto still spun around with a desperate plea on his face, "How could you not care? This is Sakura-chan! SA-KU-RA!"

"I heard you the first time. I broke those bonds the day I left the village."

"Don't give me that bullshit!"

"Whatever Dobe," Sasuke leaped back up to the high platform just as Orochimaru and Kabuto arrived. Without a second glance to the Konoha ninja the trio of rogue ninja vanished in a burning wave, melting into the contrasting brightness of the afternoon sun.

Sasuke had run off again, and now Naruto had learnt that his pink haired crush had also abandoned the village. How much were his 'friends' exactly hiding from him? What had happened in the past two and a half years that would've caused her to run off like that? There were so many questions that he never thought to ask. Why didn't he notice anything strange the moment that he had arrived back in the village?

"Naruto-kun?" Sai's voice sounded distant and foggy, "Is everything alright?"

Nothing made sense. Everything was rushing at him. Why? Why did this even happen? There were just too many questions that needed be answered but there was just no way to find out was there? The light of the afternoon sun began to dull, the everlasting ebony slowly filled the Jinchuriki's vision till the sounds of his comrades were little more than white noise... the only distinguishable noise was the Kyuubi's dark laughter.


	2. Chapter 2

"Shichidamie Hokage maybe… but he is definitely a second Naruto."

Both Iruka and Tsunade watched the young boy's team laugh their ways down the bustling streets of Konoha. His stubborn and forceful dreams were all too similar of those of one Uzumaki Naruto, so much so that nostalgic smiles crept onto the adult's faces.

"It's about time that he came home isn't it?" Iruka questioned with that proud smile that only Naruto could bring.

"It is..."

"Will you tell him about Sakura?"

"I'm not sure yet... I need to see if he has matured. I need to know that the idiot won't tear himself in two, trying to fix his broken team."

"He's spent the last two and a half years training with Jiraiya-sama. I'm sure that he has matured enough for him to understand."

Tsunade placed a gentle hand on the window, watching the smiling Konohamaru carelessly living his life, "I really hope he has... worst case scenario could be another rogue on our hands.

* * *

The gates of Konoha stood proud as ever, all the tiny details were exactly like the ones that had been implanted in Naruto's memory. It was the exact same. His home hadn't changed.

"Wow... it's been so long."

"Well you're home now kid," Jiraiya gave a small chuckle as his precious student bounded up the closest lamp post to announce his presence to the world, "Always rambunctious."

Naruto stood tall and ready, arms open to the light before him and the memories floating in his eyes, "Uzumaki Naruto is back!"

Warm breezes blew through the golden hair and over the sun kissed skin; the idiotic Genin had clearly matured into the start of a bright young man. If only his mindset matched his outward appearance.

"No way..." a small chuckle forced the blonde to notice the trio the stood gaping beneath him, "NARUTO-NII!"

"Hey Konohamaru," Naruto leaped gracefully and in a few small steps stood before his follower, "Long time no see huh?"

"Yeah!" Konohamaru smirked evilly, and in seconds the young boy transformed himself into a voluptuous, curvy woman that could make any perv desperate to be beneath her, "Oiroke no Jutsu. What to do think, hm Nii-chan?"

"Konohamaru, I've grown well past those childish things..."

"Huh?"

"Yeah..." Naruto pumped his fist as fire began to burn in his eyes, "Just wait till you see my new perverted Jutsu! Ready?!"

Both Konohamaru and Jiraiya waited expectedly.

"Alright! Here we... huh..."

Being deprived of his sex-ready woman, Jiraiya nearly flew into a God fearing rage, "WHAT COULD POSSIBLY MAKE YOU STOP?!"

"I was just wondering... what Sakura-chan would do to me if she saw me doing that."

An odd silence fell over the young trio, immediately followed by three different excuses as to why they had to rush off suddenly. Naruto barely even noticed the strange behaviour of the children, the only thing on his mind was seeing everyone again. Getting to see his friends. Go to Ichiraku. Just be happy that he was home after those years away.

"Come on you," Jiraiya was still upset that he was deprived of the womanly goodness that Naruto could, weirdly, offer but he knew that he would be in trouble if he didn't get the boy to Tsunade soon, "I know a certain someone who will be dying to see you again."

"Yeah, Baa-chan. And I bet Sakura-chan will be there too!"

"You still have a crush on the little girl then?"

"Why wouldn't I?" Naruto chuckled and thought back to the missions he did with her, "Sakura-chan is awesome, and pretty, and she's my friend."

"I'm not questioning your taste in women or anything but…"

"But what Ero-Senin?"

"But she's been training with Tsunade for the past two and a half years hasn't she?"

"So what?"

"So I'm just warning you that she may have been influenced by the short tempered Hokage."

"No way. You don't know Sakura-chan," Naruto smiled into the warm sun and looked towards the Hokage Tower, "She'll be just the same as she was when I left. You'll see."

* * *

Tsunade was caught between the joy of Naruto's return and the fear of telling him that Sakura was no longer part of the village. He stood with his normal smile plastered on his face, and his blue eyes were searching for the pinkette that she should've been teaching. She could tell just by looking at him that while his body had matured, mind was still that of a hopeful child.

"Hey Baa-chan," Naruto chuckled and rubbed a hand through his mess of hair, "Long time no see. You haven't changed a bit haha."

Tsunade couldn't keep the small smile from crawling onto her face, "While you certainly have changed Naruto. Grown up but have you matured?"

"Of course I have! I'm so mature that I make Ero-Senin look like a child‼"

"So you haven't changed at all…"

"Hey‼"

She really couldn't tell him. Not yet. She'd let him settle back into the village and then she's break in the news as slowly and calmly as she could. Till then she'd just have to make sure he didn't find out what happened.

"So… where's Sakura-chan?"

"She… is… on a mission right now," Tsunade bit on her nail and gave an 'I'll tell you later' look to Jiraiya, "A mission. So you won't be seeing her around the village."

"Oh…"

"Yes, but never mind that right now. I have someone who I've been resting for the past few days in order to be ready for today. He's…" a knock on the door interrupted her sentence, "Come in!"

Even Naruto spun to face the duo that entered, without even looking at his face she could tell that his smile managed to increase tenfold.

"Hey Shikamaru‼"

"Na… Naruto‼ Wow it is you," Shikamaru moved forwards with an unknown smile plastered on his face, "When did you get back?"

"Just now actually. Ha-ha oh…" Naruto narrowed his eyes at Temari but just couldn't seem to place a name to the face, "Who are you again?"

"You don't remember me?!"

"Of course he wouldn't," Shikamaru chuckled, "I bet you haven't matured at all Naruto."

"I have‼"

"Didn't think so."

"Oh so… does this mean that you guys are my opponents?"

"Opponents? We're just dropping off a report…"

"Naruto‼" Tsunade called his attention back to her as she pointed out the window, "Your opponent is out there."

"Huh?" Naruto ran to the window and looked at, once again his smiling face managed to shine even brighter, "Kakashi Sensei‼"

While he moved out to give his present to Kakashi Tsunade waved over the shinobi who had just entered, she lowered her voice and kept it serious, "Naruto can't know about Sakura."

"He's going to find out sooner or later," Shikamaru advised, watching the blonde himself, "and then you're going to have to deal with it."

"Not now. I'll figure out a way to break him into it but until then she is on a mission. You are to inform all of his friends of this. Naruto will find out when I deem the time ready."

"Yes Hokage-sama.":

Tsunade could see the doubt in his eyes, in both of their eyes, but she was the boss and so she got to decide what happened in her village. Looking at Temari she got a clever little idea, he was friends with the Kazekage he could go take a vacation there after he had his test with Kakashi. That way he would be out of her hair while she thought up a clever scheme.

Tsunade swiftly wrote down her request on a scroll and handed it to Temari, "Mind giving that to your brother when you get home?"

"Of course not," Temari eyed the scroll with doubt, "What is it?"

"Just a little request. Nothing to worry about."

"Huh?"

Kakashi had vanished after receiving the present from Naruto, slowly the frustrated blonde came back inside with a childish pout, "He ran off…"

"Don't worry about that," Tsunade waved it off as casually as she could, "Why don't you take the rest of the day to just relax and get back to your roots."

"Can do," Naruto gave a small salute and started chasing Shikamaru out the door. At least we was distracted, she just had to keep him like that until she had figured everything out.


	3. Chapter 3

**A.N. I just wanted to warn anyone who's reading this that the reason(s) behind Sakura abandoning the village are going to come in later chapters, at first I just want to cover the events that differ at the beginning of Shippuden due to her absence. I'm trying to keep this as believable as possible (though I will make noticeable changes to fit the story ideals) so I would deeply appreciate your thoughts about how you think the story is turning out. **

* * *

"Ugh‼" Naruto flopped onto the ground, having waited the past twenty minutes for Kakashi, and groaned to himself, "They say I haven't change but he's the one who really hasn't changed."

Silence was the reply. It was strange not having Sakura around to talk to, he missed hearing her sweet giggle and he even missed the way she hit him when he messed up. At least then she was there. He leaned back against the fence and began to think back to the days when she was around and chuckled to himself. She was going to be so surprised when she got back from the mission and found out he was back.

A small puff sounded and Kakashi crouched on the fence above him, "Sorry I'm late, I-"

"Whatever Kakashi Sensei‼" Naruto got to his feet and rested his hands behind his head, "Let just do this already‼"

"Impatient as ever I see."

"You were reading that book weren't you?"

"Test time‼"

Naruto narrowed his eyes at his Sensei, "You were so reading that book."

Kakashi mumbled something incoherent before composing himself once more, "Today we're going to have a small little match, you and I. I'm going to see how well you've improved by seeing your techniques is practice. Make sense?"

"I guess…"

Kakashi knew that look in his student's eyes, "But?"

"But I was hoping I could show off to Sakura-chan," Naruto rubbed the back of his head, unable to hide the blush on his face, "I have some awesome jutsus that I want her to see. And then she'll see that I'm cool."

Kakashi sagged but Naruto didn't seem to get why. Everyone had been acting weirdly ever since he had got back. And whenever he had mentioned Sakura. It was like they were hiding something from him… maybe they were planning a party for him and were upset because Sakura had to go out on a mission last minute. It ruined the party and they all felt bad.

What other reason could there be?

Naruto kept watching his Sensei until he had composed himself once more. He pulled out a couple of bells and dangled them in front of Naruto's face. He knew instantly what it meant.

"The rules are the same as last time…"

Naruto narrowed his eyes, concentrating on nothing other than the man holding the bells.

"…if you are not prepared to kill me-"

"I will never get those bells," Naruto finished with a foxy grin.

"Glad to see you remember," Kakashi pushed back his headband, letting the red Sharingan ready itself for battle, "Now are you ready?"

Naruto needed no second biding, he dashed forwards attacking without hesitation. His kunai was at the ready. Flying through the air with ease he narrowed down on his target. Kakashi brushed him aside and discovered it was a clone. Freezing at the feel of a kunai pointing at his back, he realised that he had been tricked, "Still as excitable as ever. I haven't even said start yet."

Naruto chuckled, "Well whenever you're ready Kakashi Sensei."

"Alright. Start."

Kakashi vanished and the battle between Sensei and student had finally begun.

* * *

"He's doing well," Tsunade noted, having watched the duo fight nearly all day now, "Considering he is fighting alone."

An abusive shout sounded from Naruto, having been fooled by Kakashi once again. Jiraiya couldn't help but chuckle at his student's frustrations, "He is really taking advantage of the clones. However, that's not even his trump card."

"He's going to need more than a trump card to beat Kakashi."

"I wonder what that kid will do…"

Both Senin watched the blonde fall back against a tree, clearly resting after chasing the Jounin around all day. It looked like there were no other options besides giving up. But they both knew that Naruto was not the kind of shinobi to just give up. Especially when he was trying to prove a point. From the looks of it Naruto was deep in thought, he was mumbling to himself and staring up at the night sky. Suddenly his eyes grew wide, a smile curled across the tan face, and even from where they stood the Senin could hear the quiet chuckle.

"I wonder what he figured out," Tsunade mused, watching that happy smile grow with each passing moment.

Shizune watched the blonde carefully but felt like she was missing the joke, "I don't see how he will be able to beat Kakashi Sensei."

"Oh knowing Naruto, and that smirk he's wearing," Jiraiya chuckled gently, "he's got some idiotic plan to us against Kakashi. It'll be something that none of us would have thought of. And if it works, then Kakashi will feel like a complete and utter moron."

"Do you think his plan will work?"

"Knowing Naruto," Tsunade sighed, "it will definitely work."

All eyes focused on the creeping blonde. That suspicious smirk was plastered on his face. It peaked the curiosity of all the observing ninja, just what was that knucklehead going to do? They followed him, keeping their distance, as he came across Kakashi. Surprisingly, but somehow expected, he jumped through the bushes directly towards his Sensei.

Kakashi froze a prepared for the attack, only to freeze at Naruto's words, "Hey Kakashi Sensei, the ending for Icha Icha Tactics…"

They all groaned. Watching Kakashi freak out while Naruto attempted to reveal the ending to the latest perverted novel. It was just like Naruto to find the strangest yet most effective way to take down his opponent. Tsunade chuckled as Kakashi crumbled beneath Naruto's… 'wit', "He's not going to be smiling in the morning."

"Of course," Jiraiya smirked to himself, congratulating his own genius, "Naruto had become something else under my training. Though he still doesn't appreciate decent literature like he should."

"You call that trash you write decent literature?"

"Hey‼ I put in a lot of time and research into that book. It hasn't even been released to the public yet‼"

"Oh cram it you old pervert."

* * *

That cheeky fox grin nearly reached Naruto's eyes. He was just so pleased with himself after fooling Kakashi the way he did, he hadn't even finished that boring book. He was a genius. He was amazing. He could do anything he wanted to if he could beat Kakashi. Having been walking in front of his two teachers for a while now, Naruto turned on his heels and waved, "Hey Kakashi Sensei! You can buy me ramen for kicking your ass‼"

"Maybe next time Naruto," Kakashi waved back as Jiraiya vanished from sight, "I've got some reports to write up. I'll see you tomorrow."

Naruto growled as he too vanished from sight. He was going to go read that stupid book instead of buying Naruto dinner. Naruto huffed and continued his walk towards Ichiraku, "Stupid sore loser."

At least he was going to have his beloved ramen again. After being deprived of the delicious sustenance for so long it was time that he rewarded himself. He really had earned it. A sweet tune escaped Naruto's lips as he started to run towards his favourite shop, he was going to have his ramen again, he just couldn't wait. The soft fragrance drifted through the tore and up the nose of the waiting Naruto, he didn't hesitate and walked straight in.

"Man, this place hasn't changed at all."

"Welcome," Teuchi smiled warmly at the customer, having repeated the action many times over the day.

"Hey, hey," Naruto bounced up to the counter and pointed at himself, "Don't you remember me Oji-san?"

"Naruto? Hey it is you‼"

Ayame turned to face him too, an excited smile growing on her face, "Oh my how you've grown Naruto-kun."

"Ha, I haven't really changed that much."

"Well sit down," Teuchi started preparing the meal without hesitation, "For you ramen is on the house."

"Now hold on right there."

Naruto nearly cheered at the sound of that voice, the voice that pull him out of the darkness all those years ago.

"I'll be buying his ramen."

"Iruka-Sensei‼"

"I thought I'd find you here," Iruka sat down next to Naruto with a proud smile on his face, "So how did the test go with Kakashi Sensei today?"

"It was great‼ I fooled him really easily even I couldn't believe how he fell for it."

"That's just like you Naruto."

"And I come back to the village to find that every is a Chunin‼" Naruto threw his hands into the air as he recalled the conversation with Shikamaru from the other day, "I can't believe how far behind I've fallen with everyone‼"

"Now the training you've had with Jiraiya-sama must add up to more than merely making Chunin rank."

"You have no idea Iruka-Sensei. He was brutal! I even had to change my outfit because he destroyed my last one."

"But the experience is what matters."

"Yeah."

"Here you are," Teuchi placed the steaming bowl in front of Naruto, "Enjoy‼"

"All right‼"

Naruto slurped back his delicious weakness with a satisfied smile, only to have it droop a second later, "Something's wrong…"

"AE?!" Ayame had to hold back her father as he tried to attack Naruto, "You come back after all this time and tell me that there's something wrong with my ramen?! You have a lot of nerve‼"

"Oh no! It's not that! The ramen is as good as ever‼"

Iruka leaned over with a questioning gaze, "Then what's wrong?"

"It's just… Gaara is the Kazekage… and I'm still just a Genin."

"Gaara… Gaara is special," Iruka comforted, "and besides, it's the experience that counts."

"Yeah," Naruto pumped his hand into the air with a new look of determination, "You hear that? I'm not going to lose to you Gaara‼"

"That's the Naruto I know."

"And just think when Sakura-chan gets back I can tell her all about how I bet Kakashi Sensei‼"

Iruka just nodded politely and started on his own ramen.


End file.
